Display device and method of manufacturing the same

ABSTRACT

A display device includes a display panel, a top member, and a bottom member. The top member is disposed on the display panel, and has a first groove region where at least a portion of an upper surface of the display panel is exposed. The bottom member is disposed under the display panel, and has a second groove region where at least a portion of a lower surface of the display panel is exposed. The first and second groove regions are located at a bending region of the display device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation in part of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 14/138,892, filed on Dec. 23, 2013, which claims priority under35 U.S.C. §119 to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2013-0081875 filed onJul. 12, 2013, the disclosures of which are incorporated by referenceherein in their entireties.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

Example embodiments relate to a display device and a method ofmanufacturing the display device.

2. Description of the Related Technology

A flexible active matrix organic light emitting diode (AMOLED) displaydevice includes a display region and a peripheral region. The displayregion is a region displaying an image, and the peripheral region (whichmay be referred to as a dead space) includes wirings and a circuit unitof the display device. Recently, various methods have been developed tominimize the peripheral region of the display device. However, reducingthe peripheral region of the display device in two dimensions islimited.

SUMMARY OF CERTAIN INVENTIVE ASPECTS

Example embodiments provide a display device capable of reducing aperipheral region.

Example embodiments also provide a method of manufacturing a displaydevice capable of reducing a peripheral region.

According to one aspect of example embodiments, a display deviceincludes a display panel, a top member, and a bottom member. The topmember is disposed on the display panel, and has a first groove regionwhere at least a portion of an upper surface of the display panel isexposed. The bottom member is disposed under the display panel, and hasa second groove region where at least a portion of a lower surface ofthe display panel is exposed. The first and second groove regions arelocated at a bending region of the display device.

The first and second groove regions may be formed by laser irradiation.

A neutral plane at the bending region of the display device may beformed between the upper surface of the display panel and the lowersurface of the display panel.

The top member may include at least one selected from a polarizer, atouch screen panel or a plastic window.

The bottom member may include at least one bottom film.

The display panel may include a first substrate on the bottom member, alight emitting structure on the first substrate, and a second substrateon the light emitting structure.

The first substrate may have flexible materials.

The second substrate may have a stack structure where at least oneinorganic layer and at least one organic layer are alternately stacked.

The display device and the method of manufacturing the display deviceaccording to example embodiments can readily bend a portion of thedisplay device by having the groove region, and thus can reduce aperipheral region by bending the peripheral region.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Example embodiments can be understood in more detail from the followingdescription taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a plane view illustrating a display device in accordance withexample embodiments;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a display device takenalong a line A-A′ in FIG. 1 in accordance with example embodiments;

FIGS. 3A through 3D are cross-sectional views for describing a method ofmanufacturing a display device in accordance with example embodiments;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a display device inaccordance with example embodiments;

FIGS. 5A through 5D are cross-sectional views for describing a method ofmanufacturing a display device in accordance with example embodiments;and

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a display device inaccordance with example embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF CERTAIN INVENTIVE EMBODIMENTS

The example embodiments are described more fully hereinafter withreference to the accompanying drawings. The inventive concept may,however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construedas limited to the example embodiments set forth herein. In the drawings,the sizes and relative sizes of layers and regions may be exaggeratedfor clarity.

It will be understood that when an element or layer is referred to asbeing “on,” “connected to” or “coupled to” another element or layer, itcan be directly on, connected or coupled to the other element or layeror intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast, when anelement is referred to as being “directly on,” “directly connected to”or “directly coupled to” another element or layer, there are nointervening elements or layers present. Like or similar referencenumerals generally refer to like or similar elements throughout. As usedherein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one ormore of the associated listed items.

It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, third, andthe like may be used herein to describe various elements, components,regions, layers, patterns and/or sections, these elements, components,regions, layers, patterns and/or sections should not be limited by theseterms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element, component,region, layer pattern or section from another region, layer, pattern orsection. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer or sectiondiscussed below could be termed a second element, component, region,layer or section without departing from the teachings of exampleembodiments.

Spatially relative terms, such as “beneath,” “below,” “lower,” “above,”“upper” and the like, may be used herein for ease of description todescribe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) orfeature(s) as illustrated in the figures. It will be understood that thespatially relative terms are intended to encompass differentorientations of the apparatus in use or operation in addition to theorientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the apparatus inthe figures is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath”other elements or features would then be oriented “above” the otherelements or features. Thus, the example term “below” can encompass bothan orientation of above and below. The apparatus may be otherwiseoriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatiallyrelative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularexample embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of theinvention. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” areintended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearlyindicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms“comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification,specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations,elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence oraddition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations,elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

Example embodiments are described herein with reference to crosssectional illustrations that are schematic illustrations ofillustratively idealized example embodiments (and intermediatestructures) of the inventive concept. As such, variations from theshapes of the illustrations as a result, for example, of manufacturingtechniques and/or tolerances, are to be expected. Thus, exampleembodiments should not be construed as limited to the particular shapesof regions illustrated herein but are to include deviations in shapesthat result, for example, from manufacturing. The regions illustrated inthe figures are schematic in nature and their shapes are not intended toillustrate the actual shape of a region of an apparatus and are notintended to limit the scope of the inventive concept.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientificterms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by oneof ordinary skill in the art to which this inventive concept belongs. Itwill be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonlyused dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that isconsistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art andwill not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unlessexpressly so defined herein.

To reduce the peripheral region of display devices in three dimensions,a method of bending or folding the peripheral region has been developed.However, it is not easy to manufacture a display panel that is bendableor foldable. For example, since a top side of the display panel includesa polarizer, a touch panel, a window, or the like, and a bottom side ofthe display panel may include a bottom protection film, or the like, thedisplay panel has a large thickness, and the thick display panel may notbe readily bent or folded.

FIG. 1 is a plane view illustrating a display device in accordance withexample embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 1, a display device may include a display unit 110, apad unit 130 and a peripheral unit 150.

The display unit 110 may be surrounded by the pad unit 130 and theperipheral unit 150. The display unit 110 may include a display panel,and may display an image. For example, the display unit 110 may includea polarizer, a thin film encapsulation (TFE) substrate, an organic lightemitting layer, a flexible substrate, a double polyimide (PI) film, abottom film, or the like.

The pad unit 130 may be formed at a lower region of the display device.The pad unit 130 may be electrically connected to the display unit 110.The pad unit 130 may generate an image signal to the display unit 110,and the display unit 110 may display an image based on the image signal.For example, the pad unit 130 may include a data driving circuit, aprinted circuit board, and the like. The peripheral unit 150 may beformed at least at an upper region of the display device. The peripheralunit 150 may be electrically connected to the display unit 110 and padunit 130, and may transfer the image signal from the pad unit 130 to thedisplay unit 110. For example, the peripheral unit 150 may include adata line to transfer the image signal. The peripheral unit 150 mayfurther include a power line, an on/off switch line, a reference line, agate driving circuit, and the like.

In addition, the peripheral unit 150 may be further formed at both sideportions of the display device. The display device may be bent such thatthe peripheral unit 150 at both side portions of the display device isdisposed on a lower surface of the display device, and thus theperipheral unit 150 at both side portions of the display device may notbe viewable when the display device is viewed from a top side.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a display device takenalong a line A-A′ in FIG. 1 in accordance with example embodiments, andFIGS. 3A to 3D are cross-sectional views for describing a method ofmanufacturing a display device in accordance with example embodiments.

Referring to FIGS. 2 through 3D, a display device 100 may include abottom member 210, a display panel 170 and a top member 190.

The bottom member 210 may include a double PI film, a bottom filmpressure sensitive adhesive (PSA) and a bottom film polyethyleneterephthalate (PET). The double PI film of the bottom member 210 may bedisposed on a lower surface of the display panel 170 to protect thelower surface of the display panel 170. In some example embodiments, athickness of the double PI film may be about 21 μm. For example, thedouble PI film may include a barrier having a thickness of about 1 μm, atop PI having a thickness of about 10 μm, and a bottom PI having athickness of about 10 μm. In some example embodiments, the top PI may beused as a flexible substrate. In this case, the bottom member mayinclude the barrier and the bottom PI. The double PI film may include apolyimide. The bottom film PSA of the bottom member 210 may be disposedbetween the double PI film and the bottom film PET such that the doublePI film and the bottom film PET adhere to each other. In some exampleembodiments, a thickness of the bottom film PSA may be about 25 μm. Forexample, the bottom film PSA may include a urethane-based material, anacryl-based material, a silicon-based material, or the like.

The bottom film PET may be disposed on a lower surface of the bottomfilm PSA to protect the display panel 170. In some example embodiments,a thickness of the bottom film PET may be about 75 μm. For example, thebottom film PET may include polyethylene terephthalate (PET),polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), polypropylene (PP), polycarbonate (PC),polystyrene (PS), polysulfone (PSul), polyethyene (PE), polyphthalamide(PPA), polyethersulfone (PES), polyarylate (PAR), polycarbonate oxide(PCO), modified polyphenylene oxide (MPPO), or the like.

The display panel 170 may be disposed on the bottom member 210. Thedisplay panel 170 may include a bottom substrate (e.g., a firstsubstrate), an organic light emitting layer, a top substrate (e.g., asecond substrate), and the like. The organic light emitting layer thatgenerates light may be disposed between the bottom substrate and the topsubstrate. In some example embodiments, a thickness of the bottomsubstrate on which the organic light emitting layer is formed may beabout 7.7 μm, and a thickness of the top substrate may be about 6.6 μm.For example, the bottom substrate may include a flexible substrate, andthe top substrate may include a thin film encapsulation (TFE) substrate.Here, the TFE substrate may have a stack structure where at least oneinorganic layer and at least one organic layer are alternately stacked,and the TFE substrate may be combined with the flexible substrate.

The top member 190 may be disposed on the display panel 170. The topmember 190 may include a polarizer (POL), a touch screen panel (TSP), aplastic window, or the like. For example, the TSP may be disposed on thePOL, and the plastic window may be disposed on the TSP. The POL mayinclude polyvinyl acetate (PVA)-based resin film, and the TSP mayinclude indium tin oxide (ITO), zinc oxide (ZnO), graphene, silver (Ag)nanowire (AgNW), copper (Cu), or the like. The plastic window mayinclude a plastic-based material having transparency of more than about95%. In some example embodiments, the top member 190 may include the POLhaving a thickness of about 153 μm. A length of the POL may be shorterthan a length of the display panel 170.

The display device 100 may display an image at a display region I, and aperipheral region II surrounding the display region I may not displaythe image. The peripheral region II may include a power line of thedisplay device 100, an on/off switch line, a reference line, a gatediving circuit, or the like.

A groove region III may be formed at a bending region where the displaydevice 100 is bent or folded. The groove region III may be formed byremoving at least one of the top member 190 and the bottom member 210 atthe bending region of the display device 100. For example, the grooveregion III may be formed by irradiating laser to at least one of the topmember 190 and the bottom member 210 at the bending region of thedisplay device 100. In some example embodiments, the groove region IIImay include a first groove where the top member 190 is removed at thebending region of the display device 100, and a second groove where thebottom member 210 is removed at the bending region of the display device100. In some example embodiments, the laser may be generated by a CO2laser source having high energy efficiency. In some example embodiments,a length of the groove region III may be about 300 μm to about 16 mm.

In a conventional display device having no groove region III, a neutralplane (NP) (of which a length remains constant although the displaydevice is bent or folded) that is not under stress (either compressionor tension) may be formed outside the display panel (for example, in thebottom member) when the display device is bent or folded. In this case,if the display device is bent, the display panel may be damaged (forexample, broken). However, the display device 100 according to exampleembodiments may include the groove region III where at least one of thetop member 190 and the bottom member 210 is removed at the bendingregion of the display device 100, and thus a neutral plane may be formedin the display panel 170. Accordingly, the display panel 170 may not bedamaged, and the display device may be readily bent or folded. In someexample embodiments, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the bending region wherethe display device is bent may have a half circle shape. For example, aradius of the half circle may be about 0.15 mm to about 8 mm.

When an object is bent, a plane that is neither increased nor decreasedin cross-sectional size may be referred to as the neutral plane of theobject. In a case where the object comprises the same material, theneutral plane may correspond to a midplane of the object. Otherwise,when the object comprises at least two materials (such as, for example,a composite material), the neutral plane may be different from themidplane of the object. In a conventional display device having nogroove region III, the neutral plane of the display device may be in thebottom member. However, in the display device 100 according to exampleembodiments, the groove region III may be formed at the bending regionof the display device 100 to change the neutral plane. If the grooveregion III is formed at the bending region, the neutral plane at thebending region of the display device 100 may be formed between an uppersurface of the display panel 170 and a lower surface of the displaypanel 170. Accordingly, since the neutral plane is formed inside thedisplay panel 170, the display panel 170 may not be damaged, and thedisplay device 100 according to example embodiments may be readily bentor folded.

A contact region IV may be formed in the outside of the groove regionIII. The contact region IV may include a portion of the top member 190,a portion of the display panel 170 and a portion of the bottom member210. When the display device 100 is bent, the contact region IV may becontacted with the lower surface of the bottom member 210.

Referring to FIG. 3A, the display panel 170 may be formed on the bottommember 210, and the top member 190 may be disposed on the display panel170. The display device 100 may include the display region I and theperipheral region II.

Referring to FIG. 3B, laser may be irradiated to a portion of theperipheral region II of the display device 100. The laser irradiationmay remove at least one of the bottom member 210 and the top member 190at the portion of the peripheral region II, or at the bending region. Insome example embodiments, as illustrated in FIG. 3B, the laser may beirradiated to both of the top member 190 and the bottom member 210.

Referring to FIG. 3C, the groove region III may be formed in the portionthe peripheral region II, or the bending region, and the contact regionIV may be formed in the outside of the groove region III. The grooveregion III may include a portion of the display panel 170. In someexample embodiments, a length of the groove region III may be about 300μm to about 16 mm.

Referring to FIG. 3D, after the display device 100 is bent, and thecontact region IV is disposed on the lower surface of the bottom member210. The bending region where the display device 100 is bent may have ahalf circle shape. In some example embodiments, a radius of the halfcircle may be about 0.15 mm to about 8 mm. The bottom member 210 at thecontact region IV may be contact with the bottom member 210 at thedisplay region I.

As described above, since the display device 100 includes the grooveregion III at the bending region, the display device 100 according toexample embodiments may be readily bent or folded. Further, in thedisplay device 100 according to example embodiments, the peripheralregion II may be disposed on the lower surface of the display device 100by bending the groove region III, and thus a dead space (e.g., thenon-display region or the peripheral region) may be disposed on thebottom member 210 of the display device 100. Accordingly, the front sideof the display device 100 may have a dead space free structure.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a display device inaccordance with example embodiments, and FIGS. 5A through 5D is across-sectional view a method of manufacturing a display device inaccordance with example embodiments.

Referring FIG. 4 through 5D, a display device 300 may include a bottommember 310, a display panel 370 and a top member 390.

The bottom member 310 may include a double polyimide (PI) film, a bottomfilm pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA) and a bottom film polyethyleneterephthalate (PET). The double PI film of the bottom member 310 may bedisposed on a lower surface of the display panel 370, to protect thelower surface of the display panel 370. In some example embodiments, athickness of the double PI film may be about 21 μm. For example, thedouble PI film may include a barrier having a thickness of about 1 μm, atop PI having a thickness of about 10 μm and a bottom PI having athickness of about 10 μm. In some example embodiments, the top PI may beused as a flexible substrate. In this case, the bottom member mayinclude the barrier and the bottom PI. The double PI film may include apolyimide. The bottom film PSA of the bottom member 310 may be disposedbetween the double PI film and the bottom film PET such that the doublePI film and the bottom film PET adhere to each other. In some exampleembodiments, a thickness of the bottom film PSA may be about 25 μm. Forexample, the bottom film PSA may include a urethane-based material, anacryl-based material, a silicon-based material, and the like.

The bottom film PET may be disposed on a lower surface of the bottomfilm PSA, to protect the display panel 170. In some example embodiments,a thickness of the bottom film PET may be about 75 μm. For example, thebottom film PET may include polyethylene terephthalate (PET),polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), polypropylene (PP), polycarbonate (PC),polystyrene (PS), polysulfone (PSul), polyethyene (PE), polyphthalamide(PPA), polyethersulfone (PES), polyarylate (PAR), polycarbonate oxide(PCO), modified polyphenylene oxide (MPPO), or the like.

The display panel 370 may be disposed on the bottom member 310. Thedisplay panel 370 may include a bottom substrate, an organic lightemitting layer, a top substrate, and the like. The organic lightemitting layer that generates light may be disposed between the bottomsubstrate and the top substrate. In some example embodiments, athickness of the bottom substrate on which the organic light emittinglayer is formed may be about 7.7 μm, and a thickness of the topsubstrate may be about 6.6 μm. For example, the bottom substrate mayinclude a flexible substrate, and the top substrate may include a thinfilm encapsulation (TFE) substrate. Here, the TFE substrate may have astack structure where at least one inorganic layer and at least oneorganic layer are alternately stacked, and the TFE substrate may becombined with the flexible substrate.

The top member 390 may be disposed on the display panel 370. The topmember 390 may include a polarizer (POL), a touch screen panel (TSP), aplastic window, or the like. For example, the TSP may be disposed on thePOL, and the plastic window may be disposed on the TSP. The POL mayinclude polyvinyl acetate (PVA)-based resin film, and the TSP mayinclude indium tin oxide (ITO), zinc oxide (ZnO), graphene, silver (Ag)nanowire (AgNW), copper (Cu), or the like. The plastic window mayinclude a plastic-based material having transparency of more than about95%. In some example embodiments, the top member 390 may include the POLhaving a thickness of about 153 μm. A length of the POL may be shorterthan a length of the display panel 370.

The display device 300 may display an image at a display region I, and aperipheral region II surrounding the display region I may not displaythe image. The peripheral region II may include a power line of thedisplay device 300, an on/off switch line, a reference line, a gatediving circuit, and the like.

The first groove region V and the second groove region VI may be formedat a bending region where the display device 300 is bent or folded. Thefirst groove region V and the second groove region VI may be formed byremoving at least one of the top member 390 and the bottom member 310 atthe bending region of the display device 300. For example, the firstgroove region V and the second groove region VI may be formed byirradiating laser to at least one of the top member 390 and the bottommember 310 at the bending region of the display device 300. In someexample embodiments, a first groove is where the top member 390 isremoved at the bending region of the display device 300 and a secondgroove is where the bottom member 310 is removed at the bending regionof the display device 300. In some example embodiments, the laser may begenerated by a CO2 laser source having high energy efficiency. In someexample embodiments, a length of the first groove region V and thesecond groove region VI may be about 300 μm to about 16 mm.

In a conventional display device having no the first groove region V andthe second groove region VI, a neutral plane (NP) (of which a lengthremains constant although the display device is bent or folded) that isnot under stress (either compression or tension) may be formed outsidethe display panel (for example, in the bottom member) when the displaydevice is bent or folded. In this case, if the display device is bent,the display panel may be damaged (for example, broken). However, thedisplay device 300 according to example embodiments may include thefirst groove region V and the second groove region VI where at least oneof the top member 390 and the bottom member 310 is removed at thebending region of the display device 300, and thus a neutral plane maybe formed in the display panel 370. Accordingly, the display panel 370may not be damaged, and the display device may be readily bent orfolded. In some example embodiments, as illustrated in FIG. 4, thebending region where the display device is bent may have a half circleshape. For example, a radius of the half circle may be about 0.15 mm toabout 8 mm.

When an object is bent, a plane that is neither increased nor decreasedin cross-sectional size may be referred to as the neutral plane of theobject. In a case where the object comprises the same material, theneutral plane may correspond to a midplane of the object. Otherwise,when the object comprises at least two materials (such as, for example,a composite material), the neutral plane may be different from themidplane of the object. In a conventional display device not having thefirst groove region V and the second groove region VI, the neutral planeof the display device may be in the bottom member. However, in thedisplay device 300 according to example embodiments, the first grooveregion V and the second groove region VI may be formed at the bendingregion of the display device 300 to change the neutral plane. If thefirst groove region V and the second groove region VI are formed at thebending region, the neutral plane at the bending region of the displaydevice 300 may be formed between an upper surface of the display panel370 and a lower surface of the display panel 370. Accordingly, since theneutral plane is formed inside the display panel 370, the display panel370 may not be damaged, and the display device 300 according to exampleembodiments may be readily bent or folded.

A contact region VII, VIII may be formed in the outside of the firstgroove region V and the second groove region VI. The contact region VII,VIII may include a portion of the top member 390, a portion of thedisplay panel 370 and a portion of the bottom member 310. When thedisplay device 300 is bent, the contact region VII, VIII may becontacted with the lower surface of the bottom member 310.

Referring to FIG. 5A, the display panel 370 may be formed on the bottommember 310, and the top member 390 may be disposed on the display panel370. The display device 300 may include the display region I and theperipheral region II.

Referring to FIG. 5B, laser may be irradiated to a portion of peripheralregion II of the display device 300. The laser irradiation may remove atleast one of the bottom member 310 and the top member 390 at the portionof the peripheral region II, or at the bending region. In some exampleembodiments, as illustrated in FIG. 5B, the laser may be irradiated toboth of the top member 390 and the bottom member 310.

Referring to FIG. 5C, the first groove region V may be formed in theportion of the peripheral region II, or the bending region, and thesecond groove region VI may be formed in the portion of the displayregion I or the bending region. The contact region VII, VIII may beformed in the outside of the first groove region V and the second grooveregion VI. The first groove region V and the contact region VII may beincluded in the peripheral region II. Otherwise, the second grooveregion VI and the contact region VIII may include the portion of theperipheral region II and the display region I. The first groove region Vand the second groove region VI may include a portion of the displaypanel 370. In some example embodiments, a length of the first grooveregion V and the second groove region VI may be about 300 μm to about 16mm.

Referring to FIG. 5D, after the display device 300 is bent, the contactregion VII, VIII is disposed on the lower surface of the bottom member310. The bending region where the display device 300 is bent may have ahalf circle shape. In some example embodiments, a radius of the halfcircle may be about 0.15 mm to about 8 mm. The bottom member 310 at thecontact region VII may be contact with the bottom member 310 at thedisplay region I. In addition, the bottom member 310 of the contactregion VIII may be in contact with the bottom member 310 of the displayregion I. However, the contact region VIII may include a portion of thedisplay region I. Thus, a back side of the display device 300 mayinclude the portion of the display region I, and may display an image bythe display region I. Another portion of the display region I maydisplay the image toward the front side of the display device 300. Insome example embodiments, when the contact region VII, VIII may includethe portion of the display region I, both side portions of the back sideof the display device 300 may be displayed. Another region of thedisplay region I may display the image toward the front side where thedisplay device 300 displays the image.

As described above, since the display device 300 includes the firstgroove region V and the second groove region VI at the bending region,the display device 300 according to example embodiments may be readilybent or folded. Further, in the display device 300 according to exampleembodiments, the peripheral region II may be disposed on the lowersurface of the display device 300 by bending the first groove region Vand the second groove region VI, and thus a dead space (e.g., thenon-display region or the peripheral region) may be disposed on thebottom member 310 of the display device 300. Accordingly, the front sideof the display device 300 may have a dead space free structure.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a display device inaccordance with example embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 6, a display device 500 may include a bottom member510, a display panel 570 and a top member 590.

The above display device 500 may be substantially similar to the displaydevice 100 described with reference to FIG. 2. Thus, the structure ofthe display device 100 is explained in FIG. 2. Further repetitiveexplanation concerning the above elements will be omitted. In addition,the method of manufacturing the display device 500 may be substantiallysimilar to a method of manufacturing the display device 100 describedwith reference to FIG. 3A to 3D. However, when laser is irradiated tothe display device 500, a portion of the bottom member 510 or the topmember 590 on the display panel 570 may be removed. In particular, aplurality of the first grooves where the top member 590 is removed maybe formed by spacing apart from each other in the portion of the displaypanel 570 which is bent, and a plurality of the second grooves where thebottom member 510 is removed may be formed by spacing apart from eachother in the portion of the display panel 570 which is bent.

The present embodiments may be applied to any electronic device having adisplay device. For example, embodiments may be applied to mobilephones, smart phones, laptop computers, tablet computers, personaldigital assistants (PDAs), portable multimedia players (PMPs), digitalcameras, music players, portable game consoles, navigation devices, orthe like.

The foregoing is illustrative of example embodiments, and is not to beconstrued as limiting thereof. Although a few example embodiments havebeen described, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate thatmany modifications are possible in the example embodiments withoutmaterially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of exampleembodiments. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to beincluded within the scope of example embodiments as defined in theclaims. In the claims, means-plus-function clauses are intended to coverthe structures described herein as performing the recited function andnot only structural equivalents but also equivalent structures.Therefore, it is to be understood that the foregoing is illustrative ofexample embodiments and is not to be construed as limited to thespecific embodiments disclosed, and that modifications to the disclosedexample embodiments, as well as other example embodiments, are intendedto be included within the scope of the appended claims. The inventiveconcept is defined by the following claims, with equivalents of theclaims to be included therein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A display device, comprising: a display panel; atop member on the display panel, the top member having a first grooveregion where at least a portion of an upper surface of the display panelis exposed; and a bottom member under the display panel, the bottommember having a second groove region where at least a portion of a lowersurface of the display panel is exposed, wherein the first and secondgroove regions are located at a bending region of the display device. 2.The display device of claim 1, wherein the first and second grooveregions are formed by laser irradiation.
 3. The display device of claim1, wherein a neutral plane at the bending region of the display deviceis formed between the upper surface of the display panel and the lowersurface of the display panel.
 4. The display device of claim 1, whereinthe top member includes at least one selected from a polarizer, a touchscreen panel or a plastic window.
 5. The display device of claim 1,wherein the bottom member includes at least one bottom film.
 6. Thedisplay device of claim 1, wherein the display panel includes: a firstsubstrate on the bottom member; a light emitting structure on the firstsubstrate; and a second substrate on the light emitting structure. 7.The display device of claim 6, wherein the first substrate has flexiblematerials.
 8. The display device of claim 6, wherein the secondsubstrate has a stack structure where at least one inorganic layer andat least one organic layer are alternately stacked.